AFTER being forced to settle for a tame draw against Surrey yesterday, Durham might have to consider batting last in future if Riverside pitches continue to flatten throughout matches.

In a full day's play only three wickets went down, compared with 20 in the game's first 110 overs, when Durham appeared to have established a winning position.

The fact that a day's play was lost to the weather meant the pitch was not as worn as usual on the fourth day, while the absence of Steve Harmison obviously didn't help.

But none of the remaining bowlers could make much impression on the benign surface and a halt was called at 5.30 with Surrey on 198 for three, with skipper Jon Batty unbeaten on 102.

Despite already being 374 runs ahead, Durham batted on in the morning, knowing that their depleted attack might be at the mercy of big hitters like Ally Brown and James Benning.

They added 72 runs in eight overs, with Liam Plunkett scoring 58 of them, the last 26 coming in one over from Harbhajan Singh.

Plunkett had spent 16 balls scoring one on Wednesday evening, but bludgeoned yesterday's runs off only 28 balls. His assault on the Indian off-spinner included four sixes, all struck between mid-wicket and long-on, with the biggest one landing on a car in the media parking area.

Harbhajan at one stage had bowled 17 overs for 20 runs, but he finished with two for 130 from 40 overs.

Ben Harmison had advanced his overnight 28 to 40 when the declaration came with Durham on 397 for seven, leaving Surrey a target of 447 in 86 overs.

Scott Newman went very close to playing on against Ottis Gibson in the first over, but had made 34 out of the opening stand of 57 with Batty before he fell in the 24th over.

Plunkett suddenly found some steep bounce to force the left-hander to fend to Gibson at gully, otherwise the only ray of hope came when Gibson took out Mark Ramprakash's off stump.

The ball nipped back to defeat the country's leading run scorer, who had made 15, and Gibson was clearly delighted to earn some reward for his impressive efforts as he had earlier beaten Batty with the first ball of his second spell.

At 81 for two, however, Mark Butcher dug in to make 18 in 26 overs, and the game was as good as safe for Surrey by the time he edged an attempted cut off Paul Wiseman to Phil Mustard.

Plunkett twice went close to having Batty lbw, and while Dale Benkenstein kept rotating his two strike bowlers he would be wary of over-working them in unfavourable conditions.

Wiseman turned the ball, but there was not enough pace or bounce for him to cause much discomfort and Batty drove him for six just before completing his century off 215 balls.